Marat Moore Papers, 1978/2013

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restrictions apply.

Researchers may access digitized materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Marat Moore Papers, A&M 4754, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
0.83 Linear Feet 2 document cases, 2.5 in. each; 1 document case, 5 in. and 2.57 Gigabytes 43 .tif files
Creator:
Moore, Marat, Moore, Marat, Coal Employment Project, and Coal Mining Women's Support Team (U.S.)
Abstract:
Jean L. "Marat" Moore is a journalist, photographer, author, and former coal miner best known for her work with the Coal Employment Project (CEP) and the Coal Mining Women's Support Team (CWST). This collection mostly contains materials related to her work with the CEP between 1980 and 1998.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Marat Moore Papers, A&M 4754, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains materials collected and created by Jean L. "Marat" Moore while working and volunteering with the Coal Employment Project (CEP) and Coal Mining Women's Support Team (CWST) between 1980 and 1998, and a reunion in 2013. It mostly consists of issues of the Coal Mining Women's Support Team News! from 1978 to 1989. There are also materials related to her work with the CEP Board of Directors and National Conference of Women Miners and collected newspaper clippings related to the history of women miners.

There are digitized photographs from Moore's book, Women in the Mines: Stories of Life and Work, which is also available in the general WVRHC book collection.

Biographical / historical:

Jean L. "Marat" Moore was born in 1954 in Johnson City, Tennessee to Geraldine and Herbert Moore, where she was raised alongside her brother Scott Moore. Upon graduating from a public school in Johnson City in 1972, Moore pursued higher education at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

While taking a gap year from Duke University, she worked as a reporter for the Johnson City Press-Chronicle where she reported on the Black Mountain Mine Co. Scotia No. 1 mine explosions, which killed 26 people in Oven Fork, Kentucky in 1976. Upon returning to Duke University, she reported for The Durham Sun.

After graduating in 1977 with a degree in English, Moore moved to Mingo County, West Virginia, where she worked as a reporter for the Sandy New Era and continued to investigate issues related to coal mining. In 1979, Moore worked as a miner at U.S. Steel #20 mine in Thacker, West Virginia.

After attending the December 1979 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Conference in Denver, Colorado, Moore became active with the Coal Employment Project (CEP) and the Coal Mining Women's Support Team (CWST). Both organizations were formed in 1978 out of individuals from the East Tennessee Research Corporation with the intent to recruit and support women working in coal mining. She began formally working for the CEP in late 1980-1981 after several months of contributing to their newsletter, the Coal Mining Women's Support Team News! and volunteering with their training programs in Kentucky.

While working for CEP she assisted in developing the Coal Mining Women calendar and a booklet on sexual harassment, as well as continuing her contributions to Coal Mining Women's Support Team News! and conducting oral histories with women miners.

From 1983 to 1994, she worked for the UMWA in Washington, D.C. where she continued her advocacy for women miners and her journalistic investigations into mining issues. While working for the UMWA, she met and married her husband, Steve Linder. In 1994, both Moore and Linder were fired from their jobs at the UMWA. In 1998, Moore won the legal case challenging the firing. She later worked for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

In 1996, Moore published her first book Women in the Mines: Stories of Life and Work which was a culmination of her years documenting and interviewing women miners. Moore's long-time work with the CEP came to an end when the organization shuttered in 1998 after many years of layoffs.

As of 2026 July, Moore lives in Tennessee with her husband, Steve Linder.

Acquisition information:
Loan for duplication from Marat Moore, 2022 October 31 Gift of Marat Moore, 2024 May 29
Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: West Virginia & Regional History Center
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard